


Mechanar Six

by Luxie



Category: Free!
Genre: Ace Haru, M/M, Mention of experiments on children, Mentions of self-harm, Mildly Dubious Consent, Space AU, This shouldn't be creepy to read, medically altered Nagisa, medically altered sexuallity, nothing graphic
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-11-01
Updated: 2015-03-15
Packaged: 2018-02-23 13:26:51
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 3
Words: 17,208
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2549147
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Luxie/pseuds/Luxie
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Mechanar Six is cold, grey and warped in its cynicism, just the kind of border planet where a group of escaped experiments can find a little happiness.</p><p>AKA the Space AU I never meant to write.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> As usually I am too lazy to get my stuff beta'ed. There will probably be mistakes, but hopefully they won't ruin your enjoyment of this fic.

There's shouting behind them and a few shots fired, but Makoto keeps running. He tries not to think about the fact that every shot fired probably means one of his friends are dead, instead he keeps his eyes fixed on Haru's back as they navigate the narrow passages. Their heavy boots clang against the metal mesh of the floor, echoing against the bare metal walls and Makoto tries to cling to that sound, knowing that each step they run is a step towards freedom.

Behind him Gou lets out a low gasp as her foot slips and she hits the mesh wire with her knees and hands. Makoto doesn't hesitate going back for her, not even when Haru calls for him with panic in his voice. Makoto helps her to her feet, but it's clear that her ankle is injured and she can't keep up, so Makoto slips an arm around her waist and half carries her.

Somewhere in an adjacent corridor they hear Rin's voice calling Gou's name and Makoto knows he must have felt her pain as she twisted her ankle. Makoto almost turns towards Rin's voice, but Haru stops him with a hand on his arm and serious eyes. ”We can't risk it. We'll meet up with him by the escape pods.”

Makoto nods and leads Gou away from her brother, even though she struggles against his hold. When they make the next turn they see sirens flashing orange in front of them, illuminating the cargo hold.

There's another explosion somewhere behind them and the entire station shakes. They are all send crashing to the floor and when they fight to get back up there are more shooting behind them.

”Gou!” Rin is somewhere to their left in the cargo hold and Makoto tries to spot him, but there are too many people. Nurses leading pregnant women on board escape pods, doctors giving orders to have equipment moved and secured. There's a few guards too, and even though Makoto knows they have orders to shoot every single one of them they just look on, guns shouldered.

”I have to get to my brother.” Gou says, snaking out of Makoto's arms and he has to grab her wrist to hold her back. ”I have to!”

”We'll find him later.” Haru says, sounding so sure even though Makoto knows it's a reckless promise. ”We have to leave now.”

”Please.” Gou begs, but just then there's another explosion and Makoto falls backwards, pulling Gou down with him. Haru keeps on his feet, supported by a metal beam, and he reaches down and to help Makoto back on his feet.

”We have to find a pod and leave now.” Haru calls over the sound of screams. Somewhere close by a gun is fired and the screaming turns into a full blown panic. Haru leads them towards the nearest pod, but just when they reach the ramp Rin is next to them, taking Gou out of Makoto's arms.

”We'll meet up on Mechanar Six.” Rin yells into Makoto's ear and then he has an arm around Gou's waist, leading her away into the crowd and Makoto lose sight of them.

The guards are streaming into the cargo hold and the captains are yelling at the cargo guards who's been standing around doing nothing. There's shooting and both doctors, nurses, pregnant woman and kids go down in a blood spatter. Makoto freezes up, but then there's a hand on his shoulder.

”Makoto!” Haru yells and Makoto takes his eyes off the slaughter and follows Haru into the pod.

”Just the two of us?” He says wide eyed and Haru seems anxious for the first time through all of this.

”We'll find a way to make it work.” Haru promises and then the tail gate is going up. While Makoto straps himself in Haru gets behind the control board, pushing the buttons as they flash up. The system is fool-proof and the pod takes off, navigating around the dozen of other pods in the cargo hold as they make their way towards the air sluice.

Once they're out Haru leans back in the padded chair with a quiet sigh and Makoto just stares blankly into the air. It takes a few minutes before the tremors set in and then comes the sobbing. Makoto takes his seat belt off and curls in on himself on the floor and Haru comes over and wraps himself around Makoto, hand rubbing Makoto's back as he mutters nonsense into Makoto's shoulder.

****************

“Are you okay?” Haru says with a frown and Makoto just nods. The pod is small and he'll have to do something about his situation soon, but he's never liked doing it in front of Haru. He knows there's no getting around it now, but for both their sake he closes his eyes and tries to make his mind go blank.

Makoto and Haru had been in two different experiments, but the living quarters were mixed and they had found each other as kids and supported each other as well as they could, even as their experiments made them more like opposites with every day that passed.

The experiments hadn't been bad. Mostly it had been reaction monitoring, conditioning and water therapy. There had been the occasional surgery that had left Maktoto woozy and strung out for days afterward, but they had been rarer and rarer as Makoto got older. Chemicals, nano surgeries, implants. Makoto had been through it all.

When they hit puberty they had been moved to a different living quarter as the staff sorted the successful experiments from the less successful ones. At the new ward they had met Nagisa, Rin and his sister Gou as well as Rin's friend Sousuke. They had all been from different experimental groups, but somehow the six of them had found a family in each other.

Rin and Gou had been altered to feel each other's nerve stimulation, a nano bridge sending and receiving everything the other felt. The doctors had started on twins and then moved up to siblings like Rin and Gou. They had slowly made it to unrelated children and as far as Makoto had heard (rumors, always rumors) they had been successful in perfecting the method and had been ready to preform the surgery on customers.

Rin and Gou and the other experiments from their group had been scheduled for shutdown within the next few weeks. Makoto doesn't want to think such things about Rin, but he's pretty sure Rin had been part of the group who had caused the first explosion. Rin would rather be cast into the unknown with a uncertain fate than be put down quietly.

Sousuke had been part of a slightly more obscure experiment, that hadn't been going as well. They had been trying to change his pain receptors, so instead of a negative reaction to pain he would feel pleasure. It had worked in some aspects, but all in all Sousuke's experiment had been a failure. The only reason he had been put into their post-puberty group was because he had been the most successful of their test subjects. The rest of the kids in his group had been put down.

Nagisa had been the most altered in their living quarters. Not only had the doctors played with Nagisa's head, they had also changed the body. While duo-gendered children had been a big hit in the capitals in the past hundred years there had been an increased demand for no-gendered children lately, children with no genitals and no gender perception. Makoto knew a few of the younger test subjects had been sold to political leaders around the Iwatobi system, even though they weren't quite ready yet. The innocence they radiated had been that high in demand.

Haru had been one of the first experiments to be successful, but rather than put him down when they had perfected him, the doctors had handed him over to a group of psychiatrists, who tested Haru's reaction to a wide range of stimuli. How would a asexual child act when faced with prolonged exposure to porn, faced with someone dying, faced with a playful puppy? How would Haru react when put in a room with someone like Makoto for 24 hours?

Makoto had been mortified the first time it had happened.

Test subjects in Makoto's group were made to always want sex, to be aroused by something as simple as the feel of fabrics against their genitals or someone touching their bare skin. Their brains was constantly being flooded with desire and even though most of them had learned to control it somewhat, it was still a fact that every single decision they made revolved around getting off as soon as possible.

Teens from Makoto's test group were allowed to excuse themselves from the living quarters, seek out someone else from their test group and work off their tension in private. Getting yourself off was also an option, but it wasn't nearly as satisfying. Makoto knew the psychiatrists behind the one-way-glass had been expecting him to use Haru to get himself off, but not even blinded by his own lust could Makoto do something like that. Not to Haru. In the end he had crawled into a corner and gotten himself off, much to the dismay of the psychiatrists. They had tried several more times, but the result had been the same. Makoto had refused to touch Haru and in the end Makoto had been paired off with other asexuals, a boy and later a girl.

He would like to say he had been as strong when locked up with them, but that would be a lie.

Like Haru, he had been kept around for further experiments. How long could he go without getting off, how did he deal with constant sexual gratification, how did he react to a mix of pleasure and pain (a short line of experiments that started around the time they realized Sousuke's experiment had been unsuccessful.)

“Mechanar Six is about five days out.” Haru says, pulling Makoto's attention. “We have enough air and fuel, but we might run low on food.”

“I don't need as much food as you do.” Makoto says, pinching the inside of his thigh to ground himself. At least he had gotten something from the pain experiments, even if the doctors hadn't. “Just enough to stay alive. I won't be hungry.”

“I guess you won't.” Haru says with a hint of anger in his voice, and it's clear that he feels offended by the thought. Makoto can't blame him. The concept of lust and how much it can mess you up, must be hard for someone like Haru to understand.

The younger subjects in Makoto's experiment had to be force fed twice a day, unable to push their lust aside long enough to even think about food, but Makoto had been older and more in control. He had been able to eat with Haru and the others on the messdeck, even if his food had been different than theirs to correct for the extra energy he used.

“I hope Rin and Gou got on a pod safely.” Makoto says, digging his nails in deeper.

“If not then it was all a waste.” Haru says, thus confirming Makoto's suspicion that Rin had been the one behind the whole thing. Rin would have told Haru about his plans, of course. “You know, you don't have to restrain yourself like that. I've seen it before.” Haru ends, looking at him.

Makoto realizes that he's shaking, knows he's probably a mess to look at, but Haru doesn't look away. He doesn't get closer either, has learned as much by now.

When Makoto doesn't react Haru sighs. “Don't be dumb. You don't make me sick and I don't think you're disgusting.” Haru assures him. “Do you want me to help you?”

“Haru!”

“Okay, forget I asked.”

*****************

It's the morning of the second day when getting himself off stops being satisfying. He whimpers as he orgasms and dry-comes for the fourth time within an hour and still his erection won't go down and his body is as tense as it was when he started. He's desperate for the feel of hands on him, but he's still aware enough to feel shameful about his condition.

Haru is looking at him from his seat, knees drawn up and blanket around him. Space is cold, Haru told him and Makoto just agreed without comment. His body is constantly overheated from lust so how would he know?

“Do you need me to-”

“Haru please don't say words.” Makoto begs as Haru's voice sends pleasure spikes down his spine.

“But-” Haru tries again, clearly annoyed when Makoto cuts him off a second time.

“You're making it worse right now. Please just be quiet.”

“You're being stupid.” Haru says, raising his voice as he slips out of his seat and steps closer. He stops abruptly. “Makoto, what have you done to yourself?”

Makoto finally looks up to see Haru staring at him, wide-eyed. He follows Haru's eyes to his forearms where deep scratches and bruises are visible.

“It's nothing.” Makoto says and it's true. Other parts of him, like his thighs, are much worse off, but the pain stopped helping a while back when his orgasms became painful too.

“Please Haru.” He begs when Haru steps even closer, looking angry. “I can't control myself right now.”

“Let me help.” Haru says, kneeling down so their eyes are level. “I won't hate you. I won't look at you differently.”

“Don't say things like that, please.”

“I'm being serious.”

“Then touch me.” Makoto begs, meeting Haru's blue eyes. “Put your hands on me, please.”

Haru reaches out and the first touch of his fingers against Makoto's shoulder is like flames to his already over-heated skin and Makoto surrenders to his lust completely.

He's on Haru in an instant, pinning the smaller teen to the floor of the pod. His lips seek out Haru's mouth and then his jaw, his neck, his ear and his exposed throat. Under him Haru is unresponsive, but Makoto doesn't care. He's tried this before with the other asexuals he had been paired off with and Makoto knows how to work around lack of participation. He finds one of Haru's hands and leads it down his own stomach, leads it down the front of his pants and by intertwining their fingers he wraps both of their hands around his own cock and starts stroking. Haru's hands are cold and feels amazing against his burning skin and even though Haru isn't doing anything actively Makoto has enough of him to make himself feel good.

“Please, Haru.” He begs, even though he's not sure what he's begging for. “God, you feel so good.”

His other hand is grabbing at Haru's hip, sliding back and down to cup Haru's ass. Haru makes a small sound, almost like a whimper, but Makoto is too far gone to realize it's probably not from pleasure. A part of him is aware enough that he doesn't try to touch Haru's front, however, knowing he'll find nothing there but a flaccid cock, so instead he focus on their intertwined fingers on his own cock, stroking and twisting around the head.

As he comes he groans quietly into Haru's neck and for the first time since the escape his head feels close to clear. Which is a horrible thing, because he's suddenly aware of what he's just done to Haru and he pulls off quickly. He feels sick and flushed and he realizes that his fingers are still intertwined with Haru's, their hands sticky with Makoto's come.

“I'm so sorry!” He bursts out, but Haru just looks away as he wipes his fingers clean on the knee of his own pants.

“Don't be.” is all Haru says before he gets off the floor and goes back to his padded chair.

He doesn't look at Makoto for the rest of the day and Makoto curls back into his corner and tries to deal with the shame.

Haru brings him a ration of their food later, but Makoto doesn't eat it. He tries to force his head to go blank, but he can't. Not now that the smell of Haru and the feel of Haru's body under his is adding dangerous images to his lust-ridden imagination.

**************

It's clear by the third day that Haru had no idea how much of his time Makoto had spend getting off with various random partners while Haru and the others had been doing their tests.

“Is it usually this bad?” Haru asks, not raising his eyes from his own knees. Makoto realizes he must have been whimpering.

“Usually, no.” Makoto say honestly and tries to move into a sitting position. The movement takes so much out of him and he lets out a strained sob when the loose fabric of his pants slips over the head of his cock. He steadies himself before he continues. “Back there I'd probably get off four or five times a day, maybe more. Just enough to keep me clear,” He glances over at Haru. “I could probably have sex constantly and not get worn out. They tested me for 48 hours once.”

“But it hurts when you do it now?”

“Getting myself off isn't the same.” He admits, looking at the palm of his own hand. “It doesn't satisfy the same way.”

“How long?” Haru asks and when Makoto glances over Haru's eyes are on him for the first time since yesterday. “How long can you go without having real sex? Just getting yourself off?”

“Probably around 30 hours. They never tested the two of us alone together for more than 24 hours, so that's the longest I've actually gone without.”

Haru looks at him and Makoto can almost see the questions running through Haru's head. “They tested you with others? Others like me?”

“Yes. “Makoto swallows. “That didn't go as well.”

“You used them.” It's not a question, but a statement. Makoto feels it like a slap.

“Yes.”

“Against their will?”

“Probably. After a while I was pretty far gone.” He says, as if that's an excuse. He knows he must sound like a coward to Haru.

“Then why didn't you ever touch me?” Makoto snaps his head up to look at Haru, because there's more than just judgment in his voice. Somehow it sounds sad.

“I couldn't do that to you, Haru-chan.”

“Don't-” Haru doesn't continue and Makoto never finds out if it's a reproach on the honorific or if it's a reproach on his dumb excuses. “If you can go so long with out having sex then why didn't you always? Is it that painful?”

“No, it doesn't get bad until about 12 hours after the last time I had sex.” Which is about fourteen hours ago and Makoto can see Haru doing the math as well,

“Then why?”

“I wanted my head clear.” Makoto says, feeling his throat tighten. “So I could be around you and touch you without-” He pinches his upper arm. “You like when I hug you and when I rub your neck and sometimes you grab my wrist or lean in to whisper to me.”

Haru frowns and Makoto knows he's thinking about all the times Haru did those things and Makoto's reaction to the closeness. Maybe Haru is thinking that Makoto just made all those innocent moments dirty. He swallows and rubs the heal of his hand against his cock.

“Take off your pants.” Haru says and it's so far from anything he would expect Haru to say that he's sure he must have heard wrong.

“Hu?”

“Take your pant off.” Haru repeats.

“Why?”

“I'm going to touch you.”

“You don't want that.”

“I don't want to listen to you whimpering either.” Haru says. “Go on.”

“Haru please don't. I'll feel worse after.”

“Because it's me?”

“Yes.”

“You're being dumb.” And then Haru has his hand down Makoto's pants, fingers closing around his hard cock. Makoto jumps at the touch.

“No please, Haru!” He tries to pry Haru off him, but it's halfhearted because Haru is already stroking him with a serious expression on his face and Makoto is done for.

He puts a hand on the back of Haru's neck and pulls him in. The kiss is pretty much one-sided, but Haru is pliant enough that it doesn't matter much to Makoto.

He pulls his pants down to give Haru better room to work, but even then Haru is stroking him too slowly and to hesitantly and Makoto ends up wrapping his own hand over Haru's to pick up the pace.

He lifts his eyes to find that Haru is looking at him this time, instead of turning his face away, and Makoto suddenly feels a wave of strong lust wash over him. _Lust for Haru_. It's so overwhelming and surprising and he's not even aware of pushing forward until he's straddling Haru on the floor. He leans down to kiss Haru again, coaxing him to part his lips and Haru complies soundlessly.

Makoto pulls their hands off his cock and instead he pins both of Haru's hands over his head and starts rocking against his friend. He moans into the kiss, even though it's just his lips and his tongue moving, because it still tastes like Haru and he never knew he wanted to chase that taste so badly, until now.

He moves so he can hold both of Haru's wrists in one hand and moves the other to run gently down Haru's jaw and then his throat where he applies a light pressure that makes Haru jerk under him and strain against Makoto's hold for the first time. Makoto continues down Haru's shirt-covered chest and pulls at the fabric so he can get to skin while he continues to grind against Haru.

When he comes the daze is slightly more pleasant than yesterday, knowing that Haru at least participated a bit this time. Still, it doesn't change the fact that he had been touching Haru, trying to get a reaction out of him when he knows Haru has been stripped of those feelings.

“12 hours.” Haru says and looks down at his own crotch, covered in Makoto's come.

*******************

The next two days passes mostly in silence, only interrupted when one of them voices their concerns for their friends or when Haru allows Makoto to use him.

Makoto doesn't want to think of it that way, but he can't call it sex either without getting sick with himself. He jerks off a few times a day and he keeps himself level-headed enough that they can sit close most of the time and sleep together at night, pressed close under Haru's blanket, because Haru gets cold.

Makoto shares his heat and Haru shares his body.

On the fifth day Haru offers himself to Makoto twice to get him ready for Mechanar. Since it's Haru's idea Makoto wants to believe that it means something, but he knows it probably doesn't.

Still, he can't keep his mouth shut and as he kisses down Haru's chest he keeps saying dumb things like how much he wants Haru and how good his skin tastes. He reaches the elastic of Haru's sweatpants and pulls them down, taking Haru in his mouth. He doesn't care anymore that Haru isn't hard, that he can't feel what Makoto wants him to feel. He just sucks and licks, feeling Haru jerk and try to pull away, but he holds his friend down with two strong hands on his hips.

“Please,” He mumbles as Haru's soft cock slips out of his mouth, “I want, please, let me.” He lifts Haru's leg and slides his tongue back to find his hole, running his tongue over the rim.

Haru jerks as Makoto laps over the sensitive skin and Makoto is somewhat aware that he's not being fair. He knows that he's making Haru feel things that his brain has no ability to decipher or interpret, but everything he does to Haru is selfish anyway and he wants to make Haru squirm, even if it's for the wrong reasons.

He turns Haru on his stomach and without Haru looking at him it's easier. He fingers Haru while he laps around the rim to keep him wet, adding another finger and then a third. 

“I want you so much,” Makoto whispers and kisses Haru's lips. Haru doesn't kiss him back, but that doesn't make Makoto want Haru's lips or the taste of his mouth any less. He slides his fingers back into Haru a few more times before he spits into his hand and rubs it into Haru's stretched entrance. Then he lines himself up and as Haru's eyes goes wide he slides in.

Haru lets out a surprised groan and Makoto leans down to swallow it.

“Mokoto.” Haru whimpers and it's the first thing Haru has ever said during any of this. Makoto stops and waits for Haru to adjust to the pain and the feeling of being filled. “I don't...” Haru says, but he doesn't finish. Instead he grabs at Makoto's arm, fingers digging into Makoto's locked elbow. There's a single tear escaping down the side of his face and Makoto reaches up to dry it away.

“Go on.” Haru urges and Makoto has to look down to make sure Haru isn't aroused, because there's a softness in Haru's eyes that shouldn't be there. Haru isn't supposed to want anyone and yet here he is, looking at Makoto with something that's so close to desire.

“You can do what ever you want.” Haru whispers and the words are so horribly self-eradicating that Makoto should feel sickened by them, but Haru isn't a mindless puppet and when his eyes look into Makoto's it's clear that this isn't about giving himself over as a toy.

That's what Makoto is made for, being a needy sex-toy, but Haru isn't.

For a flash second he thinks maybe Haru's brain can repair itself and fix what ever they broke in there with their nanobots and chemicals, but then Haru leans up to kiss him and Makoto isn't thinking anymore.

He moves slowly at first, but even though Haru neither begs or moans or pleads for him to go faster, Makoto still knows when he can safely speed up. Haru relaxes under him and around him and even though it's just been five hours since the last time he came with Haru's hand wrapped firmly around his cock, Makoto still moves out of desperation. His hands comes up to cup Haru's jaw on both sides, holding his head as he leans down to kiss Haru, and this time there's a tentative tongue meeting his when Haru opens his mouth to him. He moans into Haru's mouth and his hands slides lower, thumbs resting against Haru's adam's apple in an unnecessary display of dominance, because Haru is completely under his power anyway.

“Makoto.” Haru breathes as Makoto thrusts deeply into him.

“Haru,” Makoto says the name as if it's a reply and as he works himself over the edge he keeps saying it, again and again until it's nothing more than a moan.

****************

Makoto wakes to find Haru sitting awkwardly next to him and he feels instantly guilty, because he knows how much it can hurt being fucked like that and he probably didn't prepare Haru nearly enough.

“I touched myself after you fell asleep.” Haru says, not looking at him.

Makoto sits up with a jerk. “Haru!”

“I didn't feel anything.” Haru confesses. “But I wanted to. I wanted to like it.” His eyes snap up to meet Makoto's. “I want to want you, too. I think, maybe I could. I mean, maybe I can't respond to you, but I still want you to touch me. I like your hands on me. I like when you hug me and when your breath is on my neck.” Haru is flushed and if Makoto didn't know better he'd think Haru was nervous. “I like it when you look at me like I'm precious and I like it when your mouth is on mine, even if...” He trails off and Makoto finds himself smiling.

“I can still do those things without doing things you don't like.” Makoto assures him. “Once we land on Mechanar Six I can find other ways to get release. But that doesn't mean we have to stop doing things you like. It just means you have to tell me what you want from me.”

“I want you to want me. You look at me differently when you want me.” Haru says with a soft frown. He sounds so innocent , but Makoto knows Haru is probably the most shameless person he knows. “And I don't want you fucking other people.” Haru ends, making Makoto smile.

“Haru, look at me.” He says, resting a hand against Haru's cheek. “You're more important to me than I am, and that sounds bad, but you have to believe it's the truth. These past days - I couldn't have gotten through them without being selfish and taking things from you that you couldn't really give.” He has to stop and swallow, because he's throat feels like it's closing again. “But I don't want to take anything from you ever again.”

Haru doesn't answer, but he looks like he's thinking Makoto's words over. In the end he moves to stand with a pained hiss and Makoto jumps to his feet to help him up. Haru walks to the monitor and looks at the screen.

“We're landing soon.” He says and sits down on the padded chair, winching slightly. “I hope Rin made it.”

“Me too.” Makoto says and smiles. He leans down and kisses the top of Haru's head hearing the other teen hum softly.

“I like that.” Haru says. “It tingles in my chest when you do that.”

Makoto smiles softly and moves to the back of the pod to strap himself into his own seat. “I know what you mean, Haru-chan.”

*********************

Mechanar Six is a busy port at the outskirts of the Iwatobi system. Most people here are running from something, but there are also traders and scavengers and a myriad of sounds and smells. Compared to the controlled and clean research station Mechanar Six is a scary place for both of them.

They start by wandering aimlessly around the port. They had discussed selling the pod to buy food and supplies, but if Rin and the others aren't here then they'll need the pod to find them. Even though they might not be able to fit into a normal world they will certainly not fit in here.

Makoto considers selling himself, but when Haru hears his suggestion he just looks at him with cold eyes.

“Don't be dumb, Makoto.” He says and looks out over the crowd of people milling around them.

“I might have to think about it eventually anyway, Haru. I don't want to, but at some point I'll need to.”

“You won't.” Haru says in a hard voice, still not meeting Makoto's eyes. “I'll fuck you myself before letting any of these people touch you.”

Makoto has to stop walking and let the words sink in and Haru also stops walking when he notices that Makoto isn't right behind him.

“Haru!” Makoto isn't sure if he's blushing, but he definitely feels his face heat up. “You can't actually-”

“I'd find a way.” Haru promises and continues walking. Makoto has to run to catch up with him and he reaches for Haru's hand, just to have Haru's fingers twine into his the moment they touch.

They quickly find out that nothing in Mechanar Six comes free, not even information. As they don't have any money they have to cut the search short and return to their pod when evening falls. They already traded their navigation system to pay for their spot in the port and they are running so low on food that Makoto refuses to take his share when Haru hands it to him.

“You eat it, Haru-chan.” He presses. “I'm still fine.”

“I've eaten most of the food.” Haru observes. “Even most of what I've given you. Don't you get tired from not eating and then having sex?”

Makoto smiles. “I guess. But it's not critical. They kept us pretty well fed at the station, I had better food then the rest of you.”

Haru seems to think it over and he doesn't push the food-issue again.

****************

They're woken up in the middle of the night by a loud pounding on the tail gate. Makoto unwraps himself from Haru and moves closer to the door. Haru comes to stand by his side, a piece of scrap metal in his hands as a weapon.

“Haru! Makoto?” It's Rin's voice. Makoto lets out an audible sigh of relief and Haru lowers his weapon and pushes the Open button near the tail gate. The ramp lowers with a metallic hum and reveals Rin, Gou and Sousuke standing outside.

“You made it.” Makoto says with a smile, going for the hug. Rin lets him and presses his lips to the side of Makoto's neck while he pads his back. When Makoto moves to hug Gou she is smiling and teary-eyed and Makoto picks her off the ground to hug her properly. When he puts her back down he sees Rin and Haru break apart next to him, but Rin keeps his hand on Haru's back, even as Haru swoops in to embrace Gou.

“I bet Rin that one of you would have killed the other by the time we found you.” Sousuke says. “I'm glad I was wrong.” He pulls Makoto into a one-armed hug, but Makoto wraps both arms around Sousuke's wide chest and holds on longer than the other man probably feels comfortable with. When he finally lets Sousuke go he seems flustered and awkward.

“Makoto wouldn't stop talking about how worried he was about you all.” Haru says, looking to the side, but Sousuke smiles and pulls Haru in too, planting a quick kiss on Haru's forehead as he releases him again.

“It's good to see your pouty face, Haruka.” Sousuke teases and Haru blushes, because no one ever calls him that.

“We sold our pod for food.” Rin says, eying their small pod sceptically. “Does yours have fuel?”

“Fuel, but no navigation.” Makoto says apologetically. “We could get supplies and see how far we can get. I think we could make it to Botanica, at least.”

“No one would look for us there, that's for sure.” Rin says with a frown. Botanica is a wild jungle planet with a few scattered settlement towers breaching the constant mist under the tree tops. “But it's hard finding jobs there for people like us.”

“What do you mean? We can work like everyone else.” Haru argues, stubbornly.

“Yeah, but...” Rin says, frowning. “What we're designed for is in high demand here. We can make good money selling ourselves.”

“And draw a lot of attention.” Makoto says before Haru can get in Rin's face. “I'm sure people would pay good money for you and Gou and really disgusting amounts for Sousuke, but once the word spreads...”

“I think the one here who'd make the best money would be you, Makoto.” Rin says, eying him. “Well, maybe besides Sousuke.” He adds, sending his friend a dirty smile.

“Makoto won't-” Haru starts, but Makoto cuts him off.

“I think it's too dangerous. Especially for Sousuke. Someone like me might be able to fly under the radar, but someone with Sousuke's modification will make people whisper.”

“You're probably right. But won't you need to, at some point? I mean, I'm kinda surprised you're even still alive.” Rin looks down Makoto and his eyes falls on Makoto's lower arms and the marks there. “Even if it looks like it wasn't easy.”

“I-” Makoto swallows and looks at Haru, because admitting how he's used his friend somehow sounds even worse than when it was happening. “Haru helped me.”

“Haru? You're kidding me.” Rin says and eyes the both of them. “I would have loved to be a fly on the wall of your pod.”

“I was forced to be a fly on the wall when you and Sousuke had sex.” Gou says, looking at her brother coldly. “It's not as great as you'd think.”

“You could have closed your eyes.”

“I could feel everything, you idiot.” She throws back and the two of them starts to bicker, while Sousuke rolls his eyes. Makoto takes Haru's hand and squeezes it gently.

 ************

Two days later Sousuke and Makoto ends up joining a pit-fight and winning enough money to get the supplies they need. The same night Haru brings home a new navigation system, but he refuses to tell them where he got the money. An hour later Nagisa shows up in their pod, however, and Haru is the only one who doesn't looks surprised.

“You two sold yourselves, didn't you?” Makoto asks and he tries not to sound too disapproving, because apparently Haru's ban only goes one way.

“We're cute.” Nagisa says, blinking up at him. “You'd be surprised how much old women will pay for innocence.”

Makoto almost snorts, because Haru is the least innocent person he knows, but Haru is looking at him like he's daring Makoto to disagree with Nagisa's statement and in the end Makoto just smiles.

“All done,” Sousuke says, switching the power back on and all the buttons blinks furiously a few times while the system resets.

“Next stop Botanica.” Rin agrees and Gou closes the ramp-door behind them. The pod is suffocationly crowded with all six of them here and Makoto begins to fret as soon as he's strapping himself in.

“It's a twenty hour flight there, isn't it?” He asks as they're out of the port and the pod stabilizes. Everyone's eyes falls on him and he swallows.

“How long can you go with out?” Rin asks with a soft frown.

“It's not a problem.” Haru answers for him and goes to straddle Makoto's lap. Makoto looks up at Haru, feeling his body tingle as he sees the affection on Haru's face. “He'll be quiet.”

 

 


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> You are the ones who wanted more of this story, now you fucking have to deal with it.  
> Enjoy these fucked up little idjits.

Makoto brings the can to his lips and takes a sip of the liquid. It's one of Rin's favourite, but Makoto hasn't decided yet if he likes the stuff, even if it's fizzy and sweet.

The crowd is getting louder and he looks down in the arena where three of his friends are currently in the middle of a very public display of sex. Makoto swallows the fizzy drink and looks away. It's been almost six hours since the last time he got off and if he allows himself to watch Rin, Sousuke and Gou now he'll never be able to drag his eyes away and he can't afford that.

Instead he circles the stands, keeping an eye out for anyone who looks a little too serious. Really, they all knew exposure was the price they had to pay for leaving Botanica, but it had been a pretty one-sided decision. Most of them had gotten bored and Haru had hated the heat.

Mechanar Six might be a better fit for lab-freaks like them, but it's also a hell of a lot more dangerous. When they fled the Station there had been guards shooting at them with orders to take them all out. Even this far out – hell, maybe especially this far out – there are bounty hunters looking for them.

Oh, yeah. The high and mighty scientists from the Station are still modifying kids and customers from their new base, because the knowledge they had gathered had been saved. Going by the large numbers running over the bulletin boards the investors from the Station are definitely not interested in letting the escaped kids live. If the kids fall into the wrong hands it's a fortune in copyrighted enhancement technology lost. That's all Makoto and his friends are worth, after all. The price of the gadgets in their brains. Besides, it must be hard to sell a service when there are hundreds of hungry kids running around the place selling the same service for a warm bed and a meal.

When the crowd cheers extra loudly Makoto allows himself to sneak a peak at what's happening at the stage. Rin is naked, eyes wide and mouth open as he arcs off the floor. Next to him Sousuke is, well to be frank, fucking Gou. He's pretty relentless about it too, pounding into her as he holds his muscular upper body raised off her, looking down at her. Gou lets out a high-pitched moan with every thrust and Sousuke is groaning loudly, but Makoto knows it's for show. Gou digs her fingers into Sousuke's broad back (Sousuke had tried to convince her to grow out her nails, but she had flat out refused) and next to her Rin moans loudly and comes for the second time.

A man knocks against Makoto's shoulder as he passes him and Makoto is able to force himself to look away. He shakes his head and lets a hand squeeze his own hard cock gently, knowing that no one here will look twice at him for doing it.

As his eyes drifts back over the people watching he spots Haru half-way up the seats at the other side of the stage and makes his way over.

“Anything?” He asks, handing Haru the can of fizzy drink.

“I thought I spotted one, but he was just jerking off under his coat.” Haru says, taking a sip from the can. “I don't understand how people get off on this stuff.”

“Of course you wouldn't.” Makoto says with a smile to Haru, who looks back unhappily. “But it brings home money for food and I know you like food.”

“It's getting too dangerous. We should have stayed on Botanica.” Haru complains.

“You hated it there.” Makoto reminds Haru with a smile as people starts to push past them. The show is apparently over, because the stage is empty and Makoto and Haru make their way outside, following the stream of people.

Nagisa joins them once they're out on the curb and he reaches for Makoto's half-empty can.

“I hate it in there.” Nagisa admits, drinking the rest of Makoto's fizzy drink in large gulps. “People are disgusting.”

Makoto can only agree, even if he's every bit as perverted as the people who paid to watch his friends have sex tonight. At least he had been made this way and he could claim that it isn't his fault he's a sex-addicted freak.

He understands Nagisa's anger, though. It was people like the ones inside, or slightly _richer_ versions of them, who is the reason why Nagisa had been robbed of not only his gender identity, but also any external signs of the gender he was born with. The only reason they call him “he” now, is to make things easier. Nagisa himself doesn't remember. 

You would think that would make Nagisa bitter somehow, but he is usually a little ray of sunshine. It's just that Mechanar Six, and especially the arena, has a tendency to rub Nagisa the wrong way. Unlike the rest of them, Nagisa was build for innocence and there is no innocence on Mechanar Six. There is just hard core porn and cold metal, and Makoto doesn't blame him for missing the soft light and clean, moist air of Botanica.

The rest of them are, despite the looming danger of getting recognized and shot, fairly happy here.  _Fairly_. 

“Yeah, well." Sousuke's rough voice sounds right behind them. “I don't give a shit. I'm not doing it again!” He thunders and pushes past them, knocking against Haru's shoulder in his hurry.

Makoto sighs and turns to see Rin and Gou stopping as they reach their flock.

“What the hell, Sousuke?” Rin yells after him, but the broad-shouldered teen doesn't stop. “What's his problem?” Rin asks no one in particular.

“You're making him have sex with your sister.” Haru replies, voice flat as he rubs his shoulder.

“So?” Rin looks absolutely clueless and Makoto feels so bad for him, for Sousuke too, come to think of it.

“So that's pretty fucked up when he wants to have sex with you.” Haru explains to a confused Rin.

Rin's frown grows deeper. “I already offered. He didn't want to fuck me.”

“Maybe he's more the receiving type.” Makoto says, trying to get Rin to understand without actually having to say something that isn't his place. 

”Oh.” Rin says, rubbing the back of his neck. He seems to be considering running after Sousuke, but Gou puts a hand on her brother's shoulder, getting his attention easily.

“There's no point.” She says. “He'll be at the fight pit by now.”

“You should all go eat.” Makoto reminds them, because he might not be hungry himself, but he knows Haru is and he can actually hear Nagisa's stomach growl.

“What about you?” Haru asks, blue eyes catching his and sending an especially vicious lust spike through Makoto's already over-heated body.

“Nah.” Makoto says, with a smile. “I'm gonna hit home. I, eh, I need to be alone.”

“I could come with you.” Haru offers and it takes everything Makoto has to shake his head.

“You need food.” He says. “It's okay, I'll see you after.”

“You two are disgusting.” Rin says and starts walking away. Nagisa smiles at them as he turns to follow Rin and Gou clears her throat.

“Have fun.” She says with a wink and Makoto actually blushes as Gou grabs Haru's hand and drags him with her. “Come on, Haru. I'm sure we can find a place that serves in-vitro mackerel."

****************

Makoto makes his way to their rented house, a small cube at the outskirts of the docking area, mostly occupied by dock-workers and drudges passing by for temporary jobs. He flicks on the lights and gets himself off with out even bothering removing his clothes. It's quick and rough and has Makoto feeling more dirty than relieved.

He really should have taken Haru up on his offer, but he's walking a thin line as it is and he knows it.

Haru wants to help, wants to be what Makoto needs, but he can't. The best he can be is a warm body to rut against and while even that sounds tempting at the moment, the idea of Haru offering himself as a human toy makes Makoto's stomach turn. Haru doesn't understand this, of course, doesn't understand how Makoto can feel ashamed about doing what Haru lets him, but there's a lot of things Haru doesn't understand about sex, about wanting someone. Just the fact that Haru can't ever want him back is enough to sober Makoto in his lust-haze, even when Haru is naked on top of him. Getting off has never been a problem for him, but even back at the Station Makoto had refused to touch Haru and apparently he still have issues in that regard. Hell, Makoto has a lot of issues, but he doesn't want Haru knowing that. And the truth is, if he can't look at Haru the way he deserves, can't touch him gently and affectionately, without feeling like a creep, then how long will it take before Haru gets bored with him?

Yeah, it's a thin line and Makoto isn't sure how long it can hold before it snaps.

The vacuum of the door lets him know that someone is in the room with him, but he doesn't turn around, because there's only one person it can be and he can't handle Sousuke right now.

“Want a soda?” Sousuke calls from the kitchenette and throws him one with out waiting for a reply. His hair is rumpled and his shirt torn and splattered with blood, but Makoto is pretty sure none of it is Sousuke's. The blood on his knuckles are, though, the gashes and scrapes prove that.

“You look like you took a beating.” Makoto says when Sousuke comes over and sits next to him on the dining table.

“Yeah, I was fighting this huge skunk-smelling floor wiper and he hits me right here.” Sousuke points at his jaw with a smile. “And I hit the ropes seeing stars. No, but the best thing is, suddenly I have this massive boner and I hadn't even noticed. So I look down and this guy looks down, all wide-eyed and mesmerized.” Sousuke laughs and takes a sip of his soda. “That's when I knocked him on his ass.”

“You're lying.” Makoto says with a smile, knowing that Sousuke probably isn't.

“I swear.” Sousuke says and they both laugh. “I never thought I'd appreciate being a freak.”

There's a stretch of silence until Makoto huffs, the image of Sousuke beating a 200 pound guy to the floor replaying in his head. Sousuke looks over with a smile still on his face.

“How about you? You keeping your head level?” He asks.

“Mostly. It's difficult.” Makoto admits. Even if he's never shared any of his insecurities or self-hatred with anyone, he thinks maybe Sousuke knows anyway. _Takes one to know on_ e and the two of them are probably the biggest freaks here.

“I bet. I bet it's difficult for Haru, too.” Sousuke says. “I see the way he looks at you. I mean it's obvious how you look at him. Like he hung the damn moon. But he looks at you too, you know.”

“I haven't even noticed.” Makoto says, suddenly feeling jittery and surprisingly emotional.

“Yeah, well. There's a lot of that going around.” Sousuke says bitterly and shakes his head. “I guess it must be hard. Focusing on him when your head's all messed up. God, I can't even imagine what it feels like.”

“I-” Makoto stops, because Sousuke is looking at him with blatant lust and Makoto has to swallow. “It's really distracting.”

“Must be.” Sousuke says and he pushes off the table and moves so he is standing front to Makoto. Makoto is suddenly lost in teal eyes and when Sousuke puts his hands on Makoto's belt buckle he's just lost in general. Sousuke is undoing his buttons and has a hand in Makoto's pants and Makoto doesn't have the presence of mind to stop him. All he can manage of coherent thoughts is how absolutely gorgeous Sousuke looks, and then he's crashing their mouths together.

“Fuck.” Sousuke breaths out as he works Makoto's black jeans down, grabbing Makoto's ass when it's free of the fabric. “Fuck.” He repeats and Makoto's blurry mind agrees that fucking really needs to happen. Pretty fucking soon.

He is in no state to help undress Sousuke, but apparently he doesn't have to, because Sousuke already has his lose pants wrapped around his ankles and is grinding his cock against Makoto's while he makes the most lewd noises Makoto has ever heard.

“Please,” Makoto begs, because the friction is not nearly enough. “Please fuck me.”

Sousuke moans and buries his face in Makoto's neck and there's pain when Sousuke bites down on the muscle of Makoto's shoulder.

“Yeah, okay.” Sousuke mutters and grabs for the bottle of cooking grease on the stove next to them. “Just hold still.” He says and Makoto feels the slick stretch of fingers entering him. He opens his eyes to watch Sousuke's face and almost comes right then from the look of unabashed want on Sousuke's face.

When Sousuke finally presses his cock into Makoto it's a tight fit, to put it lightly, but neither of them had the patience to do it properly and Makoto can take a bit of pain. Which is a good thing, because Sousuke starts fucking into him without a pause, groaning and panting.

Makoto has heard Sousuke's fake groans when he fucks Gou enough times to know he's actually enjoying this, and Makoto, in a moment of unexpected clarity, digs his strong fingers into Sousuke's back, making the other teen moan even louder.

Makoto is coming hard before he knows what hit him and Sousuke continues to pound into him. Makoto lowers his mouth to Sousuke's shoulder, copying the other teen from before by biting down on thick muscle and clenching his ass tightly around Sousuke, making him come with a groan, knees buckling under him. Makoto barely have the sense to catch him and hold him up.

“Shit!” Sousuke says, looking over Makoto's shoulder and Makoto turns his head to find a pair of blue eyes looking at him. He's faintly aware that the others are in the room as well, but all he can focus on is Haru, who just keeps looking at him. Haru's face is completely blank, but his eyes are ice.

“Haru!” He finally manages to say. It's embarrassing how raw his voice sounds and he wonders how loudly he must have moaned.

“I said strangers. Makoto. Not him.” Haru says, pointing at Sousuke. God, Haru sounds absolutely pissed.

“Hey, don't take this out on him.” Sousuke says quietly and pulls up his own pants. Makoto can't help but notice how Sousuke is _not_ looking at Rin. “He's not build to say no any more than you’re build to say yes.”

“He said no to me.” Haru deflects.

“Well, ain't that dysfunctional and troubling? It must be true love.” Sousuke sends back and the two of them stare at the other with a level of disdain that Makoto knows they both save exclusively for each other.

As his brain begins to work properly again, Makoto pulls up his pants and moves away from Sousuke. He's not sure if he dares get closer to Haru, but his hesitation only seems to piss Haru off further. He grabs for Makoto's arm and pushes him towards the bunk they share.

Makoto finds himself on his back with Haru straddling him as the other teen pulls the curtain closed around them and then there's a merciless and demanding mouth on his.

“Don't do it again.” Haru breaths out as he breaks the kiss.” Don't ever do that again.”

“I'm sorry.” Makoto manages, still completely thrown back by Haru's aggression.

“Take the rest of your clothes off.” Haru orders and slips the messenger bag over his head and undoes the metal hooks on his own jacket. “You said you couldn't get worn out. So you're going to come for me now. Until I get tired of listening to your moans.”

Outside the curtains Gou and Nagisa let out identical heavy moans and soon after they hear the vacuum of the door. Rin and Sousuke must have left a while ago, because the apartment falls quiet after that.

As always Haru’s movements are precise and rehearsed and a little too rough. He has no experience with the electric pleasure a simple touch can give or how the touch of lips can make you dizzy. He has been robbed of any ability to decipher Makotos reaction to his touch, but he does have years worth of exposure to porn, covering every possible kink.

Haru runs his hands up Makoto's sides and kisses his way down his chest. Makoto has a sudden urge to throw Haru off and run away, because there is nothing on Haru's face, in his eyes, to even remotely suggest that he enjoys this, but then Haru looks at him, looks at him with blue eyes that are hurt and vulnerable and the moment is gone.

Makoto reaches up and pulls Haru down into a kiss that is soft and chaste and despite himself he thanks Sousuke for the sex they just had, because it's cleared his head enough that he can focus on Haru completely.

He wraps an arm around Haru's waist and flips them over on the bed to get on top, placing a knee between Haru's spread legs.

“I want to touch you.” Makoto says and Haru's eyes widen. It's usually Haru doing the touching, but right now Makoto wants to feel Haru under his fingers, feel him pliant and willing, even if he can't get him aroused.

Haru nods.

With a smile Makoto leans down to bury his nose in Haru's neck and breathe him in. Then he pulls back and finds the hem of Haru's tight shirt, gently pulling it up and over Haru's head, leaving it twisted around Haru's wrist as Haru falls back on the mattress.

Haru doesn't try to get out of the makeshift restrains, keeping his hands above his head as Makoto begins to explore his body with his mouth. Makoto leaves kisses all over Haru's chest and Haru hisses slightly, because his brain can't process what he feels. Maybe it just tickles, Makoto doesn't know, but he doesn't stop to ask. Instead he continues down Haru's flat stomach and finds a line of coarse hair there that leads him lower. Haru's cock lays limp on his balls, but Makoto doesn't care, not any more. He takes Haru in his mouth and sucks lightly, earning another confused hiss from Haru.

“Look at me.” Haru demands and Makoto does. He looks at Haru as if he's the sun and Haru seems to lose his breath, because he's panting and his eyes are so soft. In that moment Makoto knows that Haru does want him. He wants him in all the ways he can, and Makoto decides that it's enough. It's more than enough and worth it all, as long as Haru can look at him like that.

Haru moves his hands, still cuffed in the twisted shirt, down to rest on Makoto's head, fingers digging into his hair.

“I think I promised you I'd make you moan.” Haru says then with a sly smile, making Makoto smile. Makoto kisses Haru's bellybutton and sucks in the skin just below to leave a mark.

“Okay,” He says and moves up to free Haru's hands. Haru responds by pulling Makoto's head down and kissing him senseless.

**************

Rin catches Sousuke before he can disappear into the crowd, spinning him around with more force than is really required, but Rin is furious and Sousuke deserves a fucking punch in the face. Except that would probably just make the freak happy. Shit, is that what this was about?

“You did this just so I'd get mad and hit you.” Rin accuses when Sousuke is finally facing him. Sousuke's face darkens and he's crowding Rin backwards with the sheer size of his body.

“Is there a better way to get you pissed enough to slap me around?” Sousuke asks and Rin's back hits a wall. At least here in the shadows no one can see them.

“Is that what you want?” Rin asks, defiantly looking up into Sousuke's teal eyes. Sousuke clenches his jaw and lets out a small, bitter huff of air.

“Just enough to get me off.” He admits quietly.

“There are other ways to get you off, as far as I recall.” Rin points out venomously. “Makoto seemed to do just fine.”

Sousuke would look completely indifferent if it wasn't for the slight wetness in his eyes. “Maybe I like it better this way. Don’t look at me like I'm the only freak here. You, getting off on me fucking your sister.”

Rin freezes up. “Because I feel what she feels.” It can't be that hard to understand. Sousuke hadn't made any moves to get Rin into his bed after they first landed on Mechanar and he assumed it was because Sousuke simply didn't want him. But with Gou he could at least feel what it was like to have Sousuke inside him, even if it was 50 kinds of fucked up.

“Keep telling yourself that and I wont remind you that you moan her name when you come.” Sousuke growls and the blow is so low that Rin actually loses the ability to form coherent thoughts for a few seconds. Then he flares up.

“Shut the fuck up, Sousuke!” Rin yells, feeling himself shaking with anger, because he's dealt with a lot of shit from his best friend over the years, but he'd never expect Sousuke to sink to this.

“Make me.” Sousuke challenges and Rin can feel tears stinging his own eyes.

“You bastard.” And he’s on Sousuke in an instant, hand on his throat squeezing. He draws back and punches Sousuke in the jaw so his lip splits and the taller teen stumbles to the ground. Rin follows to straddle Sousuke's hips and pulls him up from the ground by his tank top, slamming him back down with a grunt.

Under him Sousuke is moaning and Rin clashes their lips together. There’s a taste of blood in Sousuke’s mouth from his split lip and Rin kisses down his neck and finds his collar bone, sucking it until he leaves a mark. He continues down and right over Sousuke’s heart he bites down, sharp teeth digging in and drawing blood.

Sousuke moans louder and shamelessly and Rin returns to his mouth, hands pulling at black hair.

“You want me to fuck you Sousuke?” He hisses into Sousuke's mouth. “Maybe I won’t prep you. Maybe I’ll just fuck you raw…” And just then Sousuke is coming with a groan, mouth falling open and eyes closing. Rin waits for Sousuke to open his eyes again and focus on him, before he leans down to Sousuke's ear.

“Just for the record.” Rin says, trying to keep his voice steady. “I would never do that to you. If you want me to fuck you then we’re doing it right.” He pulls back and sees that Sousuke's eyes are wide and awed. “I want to enjoy it too, you know.”

*********

“There's a clinic in the Deep Fizzure.” Haru says without looking at him. “I know it's risky, but I met another one from the Station who had been there, someone from your group. She said the doctor was definitely from there, but he didn't turn her in or try any funny business. He just put her under, fixed her up and took her money.” Haru pokes the bread on his plate.

“He just fixed her up?” Makoto asks. “Someone like me?”

“Yeah.” Haru says and finally he looks up to meet Makoto's eyes.

“So, maybe he can-” _Fix me too_ , Makoto wants to say, but Haru cuts him off.

“I want to see if he can fix me.” Haru says quickly and looks away again.

Makoto frowns. He never thought of Haru as being broken. If anything he thought that Haru was the most normal one in their group. Allowing a doctor to go into his brain and change anything about Haru seems like straight up blasphemy.

“No,” He says softly. “That's too dangerous. Even if this doctor is legit he has to go on the circuit to access the nano bots. Someone would know.”

“We'd be gone before anyone could show up.” Haru says calmly and he sounds like he's been ready for this answer. “If he's not doing it safely then they'd find him and stop him. He wouldn't risk that.”

“He'd be in your head, Haru.” Makoto says, even if he has the feeling that nothing he says is going to change Haru's mind. “You said you'd never let anyone back into your head.”

“I want this.” Haru says, getting up and moving around the table to straddle Makoto's lap. He leans their foreheads together. “I want to be able to want you. Please.”

Makoto swallows and looks into Haru's pleading eyes. Just having Haru this close - touching him, smelling him, having him press down on Makoto's crotch – is enough to make Makoto dizzy with lust. The thought of Haru being able to feel something similar, although on a slightly more healthy scale, is enough to make his heart beat faster.

“Okay.” He whispers, leaning in to kiss Haru's lips and then the tip of his nose. “What ever you want.” He smiles. “Haru-chan.”

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> There may or may not be a third part to this. Don't hold your breaths, because I have absolutely nothing planned.


	3. Chapter 3

There's a blinding light right above his face and an all too familiar smell of sodium hydroxide stinging his nose and making him queasy. The voices around him blur together and there are tubes and needles sticking out of him, but he's not that affected, because he's been here before, more times than he has any chance of remembering.

He's aware of movement, of shadows around his head. He can hear the sound of his own heart, beeping away on a monitor. Somehow the sound is comforting. It's the only thing they still haven't managed to take away from him. His heartbeat.

But they have been close.

As a prototype Haru has been through the mill. They started when he was eight by implanting nanobots to nullify the reward system of his brain. He remembers the numbness and void that followed, how he lost the will to eat and get up, slowly fading.

He remembers how they moved on to hormonal blockers, taking away the frail seeds of his sexual awakening, just to give it back with huge doses of dopamine, leaving Haru strung out and ruined for days before they tried another dose, another combination. Those days help him understand Makoto better, understand how easy it is to lose yourself in a touch, desperate for any kind of physical contact. But unlike Makoto he also knows what it's like to have it all taken away again.

For six months he was left in an obscure limbo where he didn't feel attraction or want, but his body would still react strongly to touch. They spent the time testing him, apparently finding his confusion and distress interesting.

Then they took away his ability to physically feel anything.

Haru would lie awake prodding and poking himself in fear. The poking turned to stabbing with a pen and in the end Haru cut his wrists open. Rin and Makoto had been the ones to find him, half dead on the bathroom floor. He had been 12.

The doctors almost didn’t bother repairing him after that, screwed up and broken as he was. He almost hoped, hoped they would give up on him, but he knows by now that they are never going to let him go.

There's a loud explosion and another memory pulls itself to the surface. Makoto's wide eyes, Gou's quiet sobs, Rin yelling their names. He can't be on the Station - it burned. It was destroyed, Rin had seen to that. There's gunfire and yelling and he's not sure what are memories and what is real, but then the sharp light above his face goes out and for a stretch of time there is only darkness.

He can make out Makoto’s words in his ear. “Please no. Don't you dare leave me. Don’t you dare.” There are hands on him, freeing him of tubes and IV and Makoto just keeps muttering, “No, no, no. Haru, stay with me. I love you, please.”

What a stupid thing to say.

******

 The fight pits are radiating a hostile energy that draws in every sinner, thug and mercenary in Mechanar Six, but the bad lighting makes it easy for Rin to stay under the radar as he pushes his way through the crowd, hoping that no one will look closely enough to recognize him. It's not that he's a well known face here, not like Sousuke, but he still have a price on his head. That's the only thing that keeps him from breaking into a run, instead keeping his pace slow, hands in his pockets and his cap drawn down to shadow his eyes.

He slides into the neon light of the most packed fight pit, knowing that Sousuke draws a crowd like no one else. He pushes through the mass of sweaty bodies and a veritable wall of yells and cheers to get eyes on the floor of the pit.

He spots the dark-haired teen, just as his opponent throws a punch that splits Sousuke's lip. Sousuke staggers back from the force, but Rin knows that gleam in his eyes by now, the one Sousuke gets when he's reached the point where nothing hurts him anymore, the point where every punch, every slap, causes him jolts of pleasure instead.

Sousuke gathers a pool of blood in his mouth and spits it over the front row, making them cheer even louder. Rin's not sure if Sousuke is a good fighter, but he's fast and strong, and Rin has only seen him lose on a knock-out once, which is enough to make him fan-favorite around here.

Not that he watches Sousuke fight that much. There is absolutely no part of him that enjoys seeing his friend take a beating like this, shit, he wouldn't even be here if it wasn't for Haru.

The things you do for family.

He sees his opening when the pit commander resets the fight and Sousuke goes to his own corner to drink. Rin ducks down and rolls a few of Nagisa's home-made smoke bombs between the legs of the crowd, making them panic and scatter around him as he moves through the smoke towards Sousuke.

Sousuke's eyes goes wide when he spots Rin, a slight flush appearing in his cheeks that Rin does his best not to think about right now. “Rin, what the- I was winning.”

“Not tonight, you're not.” Rin says and leads the way out of the pit. He has to taser two guards and Sousuke knocks out a third, grabs his shirt and his winnings, before he runs to catch up with Rin.

“Are you going to tell me-” Sousuke starts, but Rin cuts him off.

“Gou texted me. The clinic was hit while Haru was in surgery.”

******

They get back to their rented cube to find Gou and Nagisa there with Haru, who is out cold, lying on the hover carrier they must have used to get him here. Gou is covered in soot and blood, but it's not hers, _not hers_. 

“Where's Makoto?” Rin asks, because he's pretty sure he told Gou to make sure everyone stayed put, so they'd be ready to leave the moment he and Sousuke were back. The silence that follows his words is enough to stop him dead. “Gou?”

“He wasn't there when we got there.” She says, her voice small and pleading.

“What the hell does that mean?”

“He wasn't there. The doctor was dead, Haru was on the floor.” She explains.

“Shit.” The taste of bile rises in his throat and the hot stream of blood through his veins is replaced by ice.

“If Makoto was taken then we need to get far away from here.” Sousuke says and Rin knows he's right. He knows they all look to him to be the leader, to be the level-headed one with the contingency plan and the divine intervention, but right now, looking down at Haru, who's head has been wrapped in make-shift bandages, knowing that Makoto might be dead, might have been taken back to the Station, well, right now he doesn't feel like any kind of leader.

Shaking - with fear or anger or exhaustion, he's not sure - he kneels next to Haru and takes his cold hand. It's much worse that he had thought. Haru's lips are slightly parted, his forehead is covered in sweat pearls and he's trembling. He looks so much like the twelve year old Rin and Makoto found in the bath room, covered in his own blood and hanging on by a thread. Back then Rin had Makoto to help him - he's not sure how to protect Haru alone.

“Don't do this to us, Haru.” he mutters, somehow sure Haru can hear him. “When Makoto comes back he's going to kill me if I lose you.” He can't do this alone. Can't.

“Rin.” Sousuke says, the worry in his voice raw and imploring. Then there's a brush of hands on his shoulder and Rin half expects Sousuke to pull him to his feet, but instead Sousuke's strong arms wrap around him from behind.

“I know.” Sousuke says and maybe he really does. There's a soft brush of lips against his neck and Sousuke's big hands press flat against his chest. “Hang in there, Haruka.”

Behind them Gou sobs into Nagisa's chest.

******

Slowly Makoto moves around the cell, cold metal walls and a concrete floor, a room with nothing but a drain in the middle. What kind of rooms have drains? It's not a riddle he cares about finding the answer to.

The door is heavy and fortified, but he throws himself against it anyway, with all his weight, all his strength.

Makoto has absolutely no idea where they've taken him or who “they” are. He had barely managed to get to his feet and step in front of Haru, before they put him down with a single _tranq dart_ to the chest. He guesses it was easier for them to carry him out of the burning rubble, than to have him struggling the entire way here, but honestly he's not sure why they didn't just kill him right away.

He assumes they'll want to press him for information first. They were keeping records, of course, knew exactly who befriended who back at the Station. If they've heard him calling for Haru to wake up, and he can't see how they could have missed it, then he might as well have giving up his own name, giving up Rin, Nagisa, all of them. Not that any of that matter; Rin and the others should already have left the rented cube. That was the plan at least, if any of them were ever compromised. And Haru -

Suddenly Makoto's legs refuse to carry him and he slumps to the floor against the unmoving door, breathing heavily. He chokes down a whimper as he recalls Haru lying limp in his arms, head lulling to one side and blood oozing from the small hole the doctor had drilled to get to the technology inside Haru's brain. The images shift and fuse with memories of twelve year old Haru lying in a pool of his own blood on a sterile bathroom floor and Makoto can't help but think if this was always meant to be the end for Haru, that maybe he and Rin had just managed to postpone the inevitable for a few precious years.

But Makoto had been so sure that he'd lost Haru then, cradling his friend while Rin ordered Nagisa to get help, yet somehow he and Rin had managed to slow the bleeding, tearing strips off their clothes to wrap around Haru's thin wrists. Haru had survived then and he can survive this, too. If anyone can it's Haru. And if Haru is out there, then Makoto needs to get to him. What ever it takes.

Makoto fights back on his shaking legs and walks to the far end of the cell before he rams the door again. Again and again. At some point he dislocates a shoulder, so he switches sides and continues until his body runs out of strength.

That's when the door finally clicks open and he is rushed by five large men, who pushes him to his knees. He's ashamed to admit that he doesn't put up much of a fight.

It's not until he's kneeling on the floor and the five are towering over him that he realizes that they aren't men. They are teens, just like him. Beefy, broad-shouldered and mean looking, but none of them much older than himself. Not mercenaries then. Small blessings.

“You're persistent, I'll give you that.” A voice says, someone just out of sight. A young man steps into view, red hair pushed out of his yellow eyes, into a wild mane. There's something familiar about him, something that makes Makoto's heart speed up in a way that is dangerous.

“We could use someone like you here.” The teen continues. Makoto feels his body react instantly and instinctively and there is no doubt that this young man is a hyper class, like Makoto. The young man must feel it too, because his eyes roam over Makoto's face - the flush in his cheeks, his slightly parted lips - and gives Makoto a look that's somewhere between amused and eager.

“You have remarkable self-control.” The young man says, kneeling down to be eye level with Makoto. “That was never my strong side, but of course they did some heavy experimenting in the beginning and all the prototypes are a bit, well, trial-and-error. ”

“Where's Haru?” Makoto chokes out, holding on to Haru's name like a drowning man holding on to his last gulp of air. At some point it will run out and he'll be lost.

“Haru, as in Haruka?” his captor says, head tilted.

“You knew Haru?”

“I knew Rin.” The teen corrects. He reaches out and cups Makoto's jaw gently, a brush of a thumb grazing Makoto's lower lip. “I bet that makes you Makoto.”

Makoto feels the touch set off a burning heat in his groin and his eyes drop to the expanse of chest in front of him and then lower, to the bulge in the other teen's pants. He squeezes his eyes shut, willing his body to calm, but he knows it's a lost cause.

Thankfully someone clears his throat and the fingers leave Makoto's skin. He opens his eyes to see the young man stretch into his full height, but despite the fact that he is now towering over Makoto, he doesn't seem so threatening anymore.

“As I said, self control was never my strong side.” The young man gives him an apologetic smile and offers his hand to Makoto. “I'm Seijuro, by the way. Call me Sei.”

Makoto lets himself be pulled to his feet, feeling the dread leave his chest. “You helped Rin blow up the Station!”

“Good to know I'm famous.” Sei laughs and turns to one of the other young men. “Uozumi, what happened to Haruka?

“A couple of modified picked him up shortly after we pulled out.” One of the other teens says. “A red-haired girl and what I assume is an Adorable.”

“Your people?” Sei asks Makoto, but Makoto barely manages to nod. He had been right not to give up on Haru. Gou and Nagisa has him and Rin will be there, so Haru will be safe.

Sei leads Makoto out of the room with the five other men following behind them. At the end of the hall there's a door that leads to a fenced-in lot, with groups of young people spread around at tables.

 _They're all modified_ , Makoto realizes. For some reason he had though their group had been the only ones to escape, but it seems that while they have been trying to build a life, Sei has been building an army. “There're so many.”

“Yeah. We've been tracking modified down for the past couple of months.” Sei says, turning his head to look back at Makoto as he leads them across the lot. “You want to be careful, though, not to leave a trace of questions that the mercenaries can follow.” A couple of kids wave at him from across the lot and Sei waves back with a big smile. “A lot of these kids were lucky we got to them first. They're not all very good at blending in.” Sei looks over at Makoto. “Just look at your friend Sousuke.”

“You were tracking Sousuke?”

“Not many of the Adverse type around anymore, so when I heard of him I knew Rin had to be close.” Sei explains and opens a metal locker, pulling out a coarse shirt with half-sleeves and buttons halfway down the front. “Strip down. You're cowered in blood and we need to fix that shoulder.”

“The blood is Haru's,” Makoto feels like pointing out, accepting the shirt. “not mine.”

“Sit down.” Sei says, gesturing a bench and Makoto does as he's told.

Instead of giving Makoto a warning, the jab of pain is instant. Makoto lets out a sharp cry, but Sei is already rubbing the sore muscle, a hand lifting and rotating Makoto's arm to check mobility. Makoto feels himself relaxing and leaning back into the touch with closed eyes until Sei gives a soft laugh.

“Not that in control after all, hu?” He says softly and pads Makoto's good shoulder. “Kidding. You must be nearing ten hours celibacy, I'm impressed you can even function at this point. Come on. Let's get you some food and a private area. Or if you'd rather have company-”

“No, I...” Makoto hesitates and looks to the east where the smoke still rises from somewhere in the Deep Fizzure. “I just want to get back, see if Haru is okay.”

“Not today, I'm afraid.” Sei says, shaking his head. “We can't really risk going back out there. After the explosion the streets will be filled with mercenaries and bounty hunters.”

That's not want Makoto wanted to hear, but he is no position to argue with these people. Not only did they save his life, but they might be his only chance to get back to his family, so he just nods and follows Sei to his assigned sleeping quarters.

******

“That's not happening.” Rin finds himself thundering back. Nagisa and Gou cleared out a while back when the fight started, muttering something about supplies and fuel.

“We all agreed, remember?” Sousuke says, frustratingly calm. “You know I'm right.” he adds and Rin does, but it's just not happening.

“I can't leave. Haru would kill me.” Rin says for what must be the fourth time. “If there's the slightest chance Makoto is still alive and we leave him behind...” Ironically it had been Makoto who made the call back then, but they had all agreed, even Rin. If anyone of them were ever captured the rest of them would clear out, leave Mechanar Six.

Because they all have their weakness. Given enough time and pressure every single one of them would be ready to spill their secrets and betray their closest. The doctors at the station might as well have put a recorder in their heads with a button to retrieve all of their information.

Rin's button had always been Gou.

Makoto's button, well it was supposed to be denying him sex, but Rin is pretty sure Haru is just as effective. All the doctors has to do is to tell Makoto that they have Haru, that they will torture him until Makoto give up the location of the rest of his friends. How long would Makoto last against lies like that? How long would Rin?

Shit, they weren't supposed to be this close. They weren't meant to be a family, to depend on each other and love... They are freaks and sex toys, why do they even still feel love? It's ridiculous.

“If he's still alive then we're all in danger, and you know it.” Sousuke says, eyes steel.

“I can't leave.” Rin shakes his head. “I can't.”

“Then I'll leave. And I'll take Gou and Nagisa with me. And Haruka.” Sousuke is dead serious, not a trace of waver in his features. It's not often Sousuke stands his ground against Rin like this.

Which might be why Rin rarely punches him in the face.

Sousuke takes the hit with much more grace than should be possible. He squares his jaw and tentative fingers come up to brush against the place Rin's fist connected, but all in all, Rin is pretty sure the throbbing pain in his own hand is worse than anything Sousuke feels. Which is probably what could be expected.

What he doesn't expect, even though he probably should have, is Sousuke's mouth on his. The other teen moves so fast Rin doesn’t have the time to fend him off, even if he wanted to, and suddenly he finds himself pressed backwards, rough hands seeking hold on his hips.

“Get off me!” He growls into Sousuke's mouth, but the other teen just hums and grinds his hips against Rin's.

“How about you fuck me instead?” Sousuke suggests, pulling his head back to look at Rin, his teal eyes betraying the hint of insecurity that his tough attitude is supposed to cover up. “How about you take all that anger and unload on me, clear your fucking head and get your act together so you can be the leader we need right now?”

“I'm doing the best I can!” Rin growls and pushes back.

“You can't do shit with out Makoto and you've always known that. You think Gou is the only one you're connected to? Nagisa makes you smile, you can't even help it. And Haru, shit if I'm ever gonna understand what you see in him, why he sparks that fire in you, but it's obvious to anyone who's ever seen the way you look at him. But Makoto is the one who keeps you sane, with his kindness and strength and that huge fucking heart of his. You never realized. You never understood why you need all of them, why you need your family.”

“What about you, then?” Rin demands, not bothering to argue any of what Sousuke just said, because it's all true.

“Well, I guess I have to settle for being your punching bag slash boytoy.” Sousuke says turning his eyes away from Rin to look at cracks in the concrete, but the hopeful longing in his voice is hard to miss.

“Come 'ere.” Rin says and turns Sousuke's face with more force than he needs, because that's what Sousuke likes. Despite his affinity for roughness Sousuke's skin is smooth and soft. A few places his body is marred by marks after electric torture and from the one time the scientists had him whipped, but he never seem to bruise. That thought has Rin lowering his mouth to Sousuke's neck, sucking a mark there just to make sure that he can in fact bruise. Just to be safe he bites down around the rising mark, pointy teeth breaking skin easily. Somehow it seems fitting, that Rin gets to leave marks too.

When Sousuke moans Rin starts pushing him towards the first free room, not caring that it is Nagisa's. Sousuke's legs hits the bed frame and he falls backwards with a groan. For a moment Rin just looks down on the young man lain out in front of him.

“Please.” Sousuke says, maybe afraid that Rin is about to regret the whole thing, or maybe he just likes to beg. Either way it does something to Rin, to some part of him that feels possessive and aggressive and, shit, Sousuke must have known that.

Sousuke is already stripping off his own shirt and when he starts on his pants Rin mirrors him, Sousuke's black cargos going off faster than Rin's fitted dark pants, but mostly because Rin has to fiddle with the belt.

“We're in the wrong room.” Rin groans, not because he's only now noticing the fuzzy baby penguins staring up at him from the sheets, but because he's just now realizing that Nagisa isn't likely to have any lube in store.

“Hold up,” Sousuke says and he rolls off the bed and leaves the room. Rin doesn't even bother pretending he's not staring at Sousuke's ass when he walks out of the door. Sousuke returns with a bottle of lube Rin didn't even know they had, but realizes pretty quickly that it probably belongs to Makoto and Haru. The thought makes him tense up and Sousuke doesn't miss it.

“I checked on him when I was in there.” Sousuke says. “He's breathing and his pulse is steady.”

That surprises Rin and he can't help but feel a soft spark of affection flare up in his chest. His smile doesn't seem to please Sousuke, though.

“You're not even slightly angry anymore, are you?” He asks, probably trying his damnedest not to sound like an abandoned puppy.

“I don't have to be angry with you, idiot. Don't you get it?” Rin says and grabs for Sousuke, pulling him down into the small bed and crawling on top of him, straddling Sousuke's hips. He leans down and catches Sousuke's earlobe between his teeth, biting down harder than he actually feel is safe, but enough to draw a moan from Sousuke.

“I'm going to fuck you.” Rin whispers in his ear, hand moving down Sousuke's stomach to the coarse hair at the base of his cock. “I'm going to lube your ass up without stretching too much and then I'm going to pin you to the mattress and fuck you as hard as you like.”

“Shit.” Sousuke chokes out, looking down between them, at Rin's hand around his cock. Rin tightens his grip and smiles.

******

Makoto dreams of Haru that night. Dark images of Haru with black holes for eyes and blood smeared across his face like a mask. Slowly the dreams melts into Haru peering at him from across a sterile room while Makoto is hunched in a corner, hands clutching himself tightly to stay in control.

He is sure he is going to burn up. The constant, dull ache he's so used to controlling around Haru is slowly turning into a dreadful need, while faceless doctors studies them both through one-way glass.

“I don't want you to be in pain.” Dream-Haru says, but his voice is mechanic and apathetic.

“I don't want to hurt you.” Makoto replies, but Dream-Haru just shakes his head and starts moving closer, crawling across the floor.

“I just want to make you happy.” Dream-Haru says, no emotion on his pale face. “Please let me make you happy.” And slowly, blood starts running down his face and his vacant eyes become empty eye-sockets and Makoto wakes up with a half-choked cry.

There's a warm body next to him in the bed, but he can't for the life of him remember her name. As he slips out of the room he tries to calm his heartbeat, but a voice behind him has him spinning on his heals, heart racing even faster.

“I remember the first night after the explosion, after we escaped.” Sei says and steps closer until his face is visible in the dark hallway. “I had the most horrible nightmares. And when I woke up, all I could think about was all the people who had died. About all the lives that I had taken.” He stops when he is standing right next to Makoto and they both turn to lean against the cold metal wall.

“What about all the lives you saved?” Makoto asks, finally finding his voice.

“That came later.” Sei says and a smile spreads across his face. “I understand why they all gravitate towards you.” he adds as an afterthought.

That takes Makoto completely off guard and he knows he must be staring at Sei like a moron, because the other teen's smile grows impossibly wider. “There isn't much kindness in our world. Let alone pure and genuine kindness. That was why the Adorables were so popular.” Sei explains. “But you-” He shakes his head. “What were you doing at that clinic anyway?”

“Getting Haru fixed up.” Makoto says, trying hard not to be distracted by the way Sei is looking at him.

“He's not broken, you know that, right?” Sei says. “And neither are you. You and your lover are on opposite ends of the scale and you can make that into a problem if you want to, but it doesn't have to be.”

“What about you?” Makoto asks, painfully aware that it sounds somewhere along the lines of a proposition. He's not even sure that it isn't.

“I have a small-scale war to plan.” Sei says, but there is a soft smile on his face that tells Makoto that the not-quite-offer is being, or already has been, considered. “I keep myself busy.”

“Saving lost modified you dig up in random ruins?” Makoto says, but this time Sei's smile falters slightly and Makoto can feel a painful suspicion dig its way into his chest. “What were you doing there anyway?”

“Like I said.” Sei pushes off the wall and walks to the door, looking out into the neon lights of the Mechanar night. “It's a war.”

“You blew up the clinic?” Makoto says and suddenly everything falls into place. “You weren't just there by chance. You were the ones who blew it up! You might have killed Haru, you could have killed me!”

“The team was new. They thought the clinic was cleared, they made a mistake.” Sei says as he turns back to face Makoto. He looks sorry, but not nearly sorry enough. “The Station was just the first step, but we will never be free, not like this. They will never stop hunting us. And if I can't keep those kids safe, then it was all for nothing. I killed all those people for nothing.”

“So instead you're killing more people?”

“They want us all dead. Rin was scheduled for termination, all of us, all of the prototypes were going to be killed off at some point. It was just a matter of time.”

“I- they're human beings...”

“Yes, well. That doesn't have the same significance as it once did, I'm afraid. We're proof of that.” Sei says, pain, regret and determination battling in his yellow eyes. ”They made us. Now they have to deal with us.”

******

Makoto has never held a gun before and the one Sei's men give him makes him feel more nervous than safe. Sei assures him he probably won't have to fire it, but he'll need one, just in case.

The docks are quiet and grey in the dim morning light from the satellites hovering the city. Makoto shouldn't be surprised to find their rented cube abandoned, the inside stripped clean of the precious few possessions they had managed to gather. That doesn't mean it doesn't hurt, though.

“We'll find them.” Sei promises. “It's what we do, remember?”

Makoto just nods mechanically, eyes searching the bare walls, the cold metal and concrete cube that had been his first home. There won't be any clues, won't be a map or instructions, but still he walks around the small space.

His heart leaps as he spots it, a single note in the childish handwriting they all share, two small words, _He's alive_.

“Haru is alive.” He says and the words leaving his mouth does something to his brain, because he can't stop the smile that spreads across his face. “Haru's alive.”

“Well, if that's the case they can't have left Mechanar Six.” Sei says. “If he was as injured as you say then the G-force of a take-off could cause a cardiac arrest.” Sei turns to one of his men, a tall kid named Kazuki. “He'll need medical attention.”

“We can check Sasabe and maybe Ama-chan out in Usher Town.” Kazuki suggests. “They've both housed injured modified before.”

“Take Uozomi and Nitori to Sasabe. Keep me updated.” Sei turns back to Makoto. “We'll take Usher Town.”

Usher town turns out to be the cleaner end of Mechanar Six, with a softer light and tall plant walls to take the worst of the noise and pollution. The co-op houses are slightly larger than the cubes on the docks and every two stories there are small gardens.

“I didn't even know this place existed.” Makoto says, keeping just behind Sei as they navigate the streets. “How would Rin?”

“Ama-chan used to be a surrogate mother at The Station. After she miscarried twice they gave up on her and they never realized that she miscarried on purpose because she couldn't bare the thought of giving up a child to be used the way we were.” Sei leads Makoto up a flight of stairs and across a small bridge until they reach a house with the curtains drawn closed and a small herb garden out front. “She heard about Rin and Gou's termination by accident and made up an excuse to return to the Station. She was the one who gave us the explosives and the maps of the engine rooms.” Sei says and knocks on the pale blue door twice. “She's the reason we had a chance to live.”

There's movement at the closed curtains and a flash of red eyes. The next second the vacuum of the door is drowned out by Gou's shrieks and Nagisa's cheers.

“Makoto!”

“Mako-chan!”

He has his arms full of Nagisa, who jumps up and wraps all his limbs around Makoto. Gou is content to wrap her arms around Makoto's broad back from behind, resting her head between his shoulder blades.

“I thought-” She starts, but either she can't force herself to say it out loud or she simply can't stop her sobbing, because the end of it never comes. Which is fine, because Makoto knows what they thought and he doesn't want to think about it either.

“I'm here.” He says and puts Nagisa down, taking both of them into a hug.

“Took you long enough.” comes Sousuke's voice from the door, a young woman Gou's size peering out from behind him. She must be Ama-chan.

“I would have been here sooner-” Makoto says, but before he can finish Sousuke takes a step closer and pulls Makoto into a lingering hug, the warmth of his skin and the strength of his arms making Makoto relax into the embrace.

“Sei?”

Sousuke lets go of him so he can turn and see Rin who's paused on the stairs behind them, coming up, Haru's messenger bag over his shoulder and a bag of groceries in his arms. His eyes are wide and locked on Sei and it takes him a while to pull himself together enough to notice that Makoto is there, too.

“Makoto-”

Makoto rarely hears his own name spokes as softly as Rin does it, like all air leaves his lungs with the word.

“You left the cube.” Makoto says and he's not sure if it's meant to be an accusation.

“Yeah well, it was your stupid idea.” Rin growls and within the three steps it takes him to cover the space between the stairs and Makoto, he's managed to put down the bag of groceries, slung Haru's bag over his head and is pulling Makoto into a hug that's far more desperate than the one Makoto just shared with Sousuke.

“Shit,” Rin says before he inhales deeply and Makoto understands his sentiment. “He woke up this morning and asked for you. I couldn't tell him anything.”

“He's awake now.” A soft voice says and Makoto turns his head to see Ama-chan in the door, arm slung over Gou's shoulder like they've been girlfriends for years and not hours.

Ama-chan shows him to her guestroom where Haru is resting, head wrapped in clean bandages and eyes closed. When he hears them enter Haru opens his eyes and looks up at Makoto who kneels down next to the bed. Makoto doesn't realize he's crying until Haru lifts his arm, fingers gently finding Makoto's cheek to catch a tear.

“You told me you love me.” Haru mumbles and looks up at Makoto. Makoto can't find his voice so he just nods and smiles. Haru blinks a few times, seems to mull it over like it's new information. “About damn time.” He says then and falls back to sleep.

Makoto is guided from the room by Ama-chan and cross-examined by Rin and Nagisa, but mostly it's Sei who answers the questions. Makoto keeps glaring over at the door to Haru's room.

******

When Ama-chan finally agrees to let Haru leave his bed, his entire body is stiff and he stinks like a pile of dead rats. He convinces Makoto to draw up a bath for him in a plastic tub so small Haru is sure it's meant for babies, but he would never dream of complaining about the tight space.

The water feels silky against his skin and Makoto sits next to the tub and starts washing Haru with a cloth on his back while Haru tries to rub life into his own legs.

Slowly Makoto works soap into Haru's hair, loosening the dried cakes of blood before he dips the cloth in the tub and wrings it over Haru's head, again and again, until the soap is out. Then he runs his nails over the sensitive skin of Haru's nape and Haru lets himself melt into the touch with closed eyes.

“Is the water too cold?” Makoto asks, more than a hint of worry in his voice. “You're trembling.”

Haru hadn't realized, but as Makoto runs a warm hand over his back Haru shivers and a rush of heat finds it's way into his stomach, settling low.

“No I'm not cold, I'm-” He's not sure what to say, because his body is waking up as Makoto's fingers gently rubs his skin, and it reminds him of the soft ache he was subjected to as a young teen. It's nothing like the fever-like way Makoto sometimes looks at Haru, like Haru is the only thing that will stop the lava in hie veins, but, Haru has to remind himself, Makoto is a hyper class and even if this is real and Haru is actually getting aroused like a normal person, he wouldn't react as strongly as Makoto would.

Maybe this is the normal way for a body to react. It's a theory he has to test.

“Kiss me.” Haru says twisting around in the small tub as much as possible. Makoto blinks at him a few times.

“Haru?”

“Kiss me, please.” Haru says and leans towards Makoto, who reacts instantly and presses his lips to Haru's, hand coming up to cup Haru's jaw. It's soft and warm, and the taste of Makoto, as their tongues meet in Haru's mouth, sends a jolt of electricity into Haru's groin. Haru doesn't stop the moan from leaving his mouth. They've booth waited too long for this, been through too much, for him to deny Makoto the sound of his first actual moan and Makoto's reaction is perfect. He pulls off and with wide, green eyes he looks at Haru like he's some kind of wonder.

“You-?” The question is there, even in that one short word and Haru nods, feeling oddly self-conscious. He's not sure how his body is supposed to react, but the way Makoto looks at him now makes him dizzy and warm and that's more than enough.

“You two are disgusting.” Rin says, leaning against the door frame to the bath room. “I mean, really disgusting. I might throw up.”

“Shut up or go away.” Haru says, because he actually doesn't care if Rin watches this, but the least he can do is to keep his mouth shut and enjoy the show.

“Kiss me more.” He tells Makoto, who complies, kissing Haru until Haru has to break the kiss due to the awkward angle. By then Rin is gone, but there's laughter from the living room of Ama-chan's small house and for a precious few moments it's easy to forget that they are all broken kids in the middle of a war

 

***

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay, so.  
> I was kind of at a loss for how to end this chapter for Haru and for a while I even considered leaving it open. A huge part of me wanted Haru to stay asexual, because I wanted him to understand what Sei tells Mokoto - that there's nothing wrong with the way he is. However, since Haru was actually pained enough by the way he was, to go to a doctor to fix it, I decided it would be fair to give Haru his wish.  
> This doesn't mean Haru is suddenly completely `normal´. The reversal procedure was interrupted and it would make sense if that had a consequence for Haru. If I ever do a follow-up it would be fun to explore how Makoto and Haru's sexlife expands and if they can even make it work.  
> BUT  
> As always you can consider this complete. I have absolutely nothing planned for a fourth part and I'm not leaving you on a cliff hanger, so I don't have to feel terrible about it.  
> I hope you all enjoyed this chapter, even if it wasn't that MakoHaru heavy. This story really ended up with a lot more will of it's own than I intended.  
> Thank you all for reading.  
> Love, Lulu.


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